Inside the competition arena—
"Next, please welcome Contestant No.98's Pokémon, Marill, for its one-minute showcase."
"WAAAAAHHH—!!"
By the time the competition had reached the third-round semifinals, there weren't many contestants left.
At this stage, the audience already had a very clear understanding of which contestants were popular and which Pokémon had the greatest chances of winning the championship.
Misty's Marill had consistently earned over 4900 votes in both previous rounds.
Although it still couldn't compare to Ash's shiny Feebas and shiny Magikarp, which advanced with perfect scores every single round—
Marill was unquestionably still one of the most popular Pokémon in the competition and a serious championship contender.
The moment the referee robot announced Marill's appearance, the audience erupted into passionate cheers.
And once Marill's showcase began—
It absolutely did not disappoint.
In the previous two rounds, Marill had always emerged from the underwater passageways beneath the Water Cube arena.
But this time—
Misty chose to have Marill enter from the diving platform above.
During the earlier rounds, Marill had mostly displayed its adorable and cuddly Water Mouse Pokémon charm.
But now—
Misty intended to show the audience another side of Marill entirely.
A side overflowing with explosive strength and power.
"Marill, use Mega Punch!!"
Backstage, Misty grabbed the microphone handed to her by a staff member and decisively issued her command.
"Mariii~!"
Standing atop the diving platform high above the Water Cube arena, Marill walked forward with tiny adorable steps under the focus of cameras, bright lights, and the gazes of all 5,000 spectators.
Before formally beginning its display—
In order to create a greater contrast with the violent power it was about to reveal—
Marill first cupped its cheeks with both little paws and acted cute toward the audience.
The crowd instantly melted.
Countless spectators clutched their hearts while screaming from pure overload.
And then—
At the exact moment everyone was drowning in Marill's adorable charm—
Marill finally revealed the fierce and violent side hidden beneath its cute appearance.
"Whooosh—!"
Marill suddenly leapt forward from the diving platform.
Midair, it continuously spun and flipped like a professional Olympic diver.
And just before plunging into the water—
"BOOOOM!!!"
Marill unleashed Mega Punch.
The previously calm mirror-like pool instantly exploded into enormous crashing waves.
Towering walls of water surged violently upward toward the sky.
The entire audience froze in shock.
Nobody had expected such a tiny and adorable little Pokémon to contain such terrifying physical strength inside its body.
Compared to the silly cuteness Marill displayed in the earlier rounds—
This sudden burst of overwhelming violence created an enormous contrast.
But precisely because the contrast was so extreme—
The audience found it incredibly exciting and refreshing.
Throughout the competition, most contestants focused entirely on displaying beauty, elegance, energy, and cuteness.
Very few contestants dared showcase raw power or aggression.
When Pokémon like Kingler, Gyarados, or Basculin displayed violent strength earlier in the competition, the audience reaction had mostly been:
"How rough and violent…"
But when the exact same type of power appeared on Marill—
After two rounds of prior buildup showing its adorable side—
The audience no longer perceived it as brutal.
Instead, they experienced an overwhelming sense of surprise and "gap moe," a strange but irresistible contrast between cuteness and explosive power.
"WAAAAAHHHH—!!"
"Marill!!"
"Marill!!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the stadium exploded into even louder cheers than before the performance began.
Very quickly, the referee robot announced the end of the one-minute showcase.
The audience judges began voting.
And soon afterward, the final results were tallied.
"One minute of voting has concluded. Semifinal Contestant No.5's Pokémon, Marill, has received a final score of 4993 votes."
Misty and Marill's results had officially been revealed.
Although Marill had already achieved over 4900 votes in both previous rounds—
This semifinal performance shattered its previous records yet again.
4993 votes.
Only seven votes away from a perfect score.
At this point in the competition, aside from Ash's two shiny Pokémon, this was the highest score any contestant had received so far.
The audience erupted into wild cheers.
Backstage, Misty herself jumped excitedly in celebration.
Inside the contestant waiting hall, Ash, Gary, Green, and Clarissa were all genuinely happy for her.
Over the past two days, everyone had gradually come to understand just how much pressure Misty carried despite her young age as the Cerulean Gym Leader.
Marill's outstanding result was the product of her hard work.
Naturally, as her friends, they sincerely celebrated her success.
However—
While Ash and the others were happy for Misty—
The remaining contestants inside the waiting hall immediately felt enormous pressure.
After all, in this semifinal round, only the Top 10 out of 40 contestants could advance to the finals.
Every contestant here was directly competing for those precious ten spots.
…
The competition continued.
After Misty left the stage, more contestants quickly followed.
A Horsea that used ink to create paintings.
A Wingull that formed giant hearts using Mist.
A Surskit that skated elegantly across the surface of the water.
Soon—
It was finally Clarissa's turn.
In this semifinal round, she had drawn contestant number 16, placing her relatively early among the remaining contestants.
As one of the brightest championship favorites in the entire competition, the shiny Magikarp already possessed extremely high popularity among the audience.
Meanwhile, backstage, Clarissa herself also attracted enormous attention due to both her striking Joy Family appearance and her close relationship with Ash.
In short—
The moment Clarissa and the shiny Magikarp prepared to take the stage, they instantly became the center of attention both inside the arena and backstage.
Everyone eagerly anticipated her semifinal performance.
Would she continue using the elegant "Golden Dragon Fish in a Glass Tank" presentation from previous rounds?
Or would she reveal a completely new showcase?
Everyone was filled with anticipation.
Many contestants secretly wondered—
During the previous two rounds, the shiny Magikarp had merely swum gracefully through the Water Cube pool.
If Clarissa reused the exact same routine again this round…
Would the audience finally grow tired of it?
Would the legendary perfect-score streak finally come to an end?
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